I'd like to have a go at rooting my phone, but I'd like to get back all my settings and apps when I do.

Click to expand...

The new recovery image that you'll have to flash to your handset will include an option to back-up (and restore) using Nandroid. If you make a backup using that as soon as the recovery image is replaced, prior to doing anything else, restoring that will return your handset to the exact state it was in (apart from the new recovery image obviously). It doesn't allow selective restoration though as it's more for 'disaster recovery'.

Once rooted, for day-to-day use I highly recommend Titanium Backup as it will restore both all your apps and their associated data/Market information.